BRIDGEPORT -- On any given day at Bryant School, one in 10 students is absent.

The circa-1912 school building, with a 1997 addition, is home to few electronic white boards and a good number of classroom computers that are broken.

There is a new principal at the pre-kindergarten-through-sixth-grade school who, according to a just-released state audit, is getting high marks from the school community.

"Her presence in the hallways, classrooms and lunchroom has helped change the climate of the school," the report states.

At the same time, because Principal Vicki Egri has no assistant, the report continues, her effectiveness as a strong instructional leader is compromised.

A document that is 19 pages in length, the state-commissioned Operational and Instructional Audit at Bryant, will serve as a jumping-off point for a committee formed last month to develop a turnaround plan for the West Side school. The committee meets again at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Bryant's library.

A candidate for the state's Commissioner's Network, Bryant would get much-needed extra funding and assistance from the state by joining, but must come up with a plan acceptable to the commissioner of education and the state Board of Education. The district already has two schools in the network of 11 schools statewide.

More Information

School snapshotBryant is one of two schools being considered by the state to join the Commissioner's Network.Enrollment: 423Administrators: 1Teachers: 29Support staff: Social worker, psychologist, guidance counselor and speech practitioner are all part timeMobility rate: 36.36 percentEligible for free or reduced-price lunches: 100 percentEnglish as a Second Language population: 19 percentReceiving special education: 11 percentDaily student attendance rate: 91 percentTeachers rated exemplary or proficient in 2012-13: 100 percentStudents reading at grade level: 4.7 to 20 percent, depending on the grade.Students doing math at grade level: 9.5 to 32 percent, depending on the grade

Bryant and Bridgeport's Marin School are among six being considered for the 2014-15 school year.

State law permits a plan to be imposed on Bryant should the committee not come up with something the state believes will work. That is unlikely in this case, Ferguson told the committee, which includes three city teachers, two principals, two central office administrators and a parent.

The audit, which Ferguson characterized as "a tool to inform the conversation," was based on statistical data, a Jan. 13 site visit to the school, a teacher survey and interviews with students and community members.

The report found most teachers at Bryant have made a long-term commitment to the school and all were rated proficient or exemplary in the pilot year of the state's new teacher-evaluation system.

"These evaluations do not match student-achievement levels," the report pointed out. Fewer than one-third of students at the school are testing at the goal level.

Teachers told the auditors they have been overwhelmed with the implementation of several new science, math and reading instructional materials simultaneously in the past year. The math program is particularly hard, they said, because older students lack some of the fundamental skills required. So there are gaps to reconcile.

Auditors, meanwhile, reported they found little evidence of teachers varying instruction to accommodate students at different achievement levels.

Under the category of operations, teachers told the auditors they don't have enough instructional time or help. Teachers' aides are only assigned to pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and special education classes. Support staff -- the nurse, psychologist, social worker and guidance counselor -- are all part time. Because the principal has no assistant, she spends two hours of her day doing lunch duty.

Students, meanwhile, told auditors they hoped for more hands-on activities, field trips, projects and assemblies. Those interviewed reported minimal bullying at Bryant. They also like new school initiatives such as Fun-Fact Fridays and Thoughtful Thursdays.

Parents also did not escape notice in the report. The auditors said although Bryant has a strong, small group of active parents, family involvement at the school is low.